Yakupov's debut in St. Louis, Blues take-on Hawks

On Friday, October 7, the St. Louis Blues traded a prospect and a conditional draft pick for the first overall draft pick of 2010, Nail Yakupov. Tonight, he’ll make his debut as a Blue.

Although I didn’t expect this trade to happen, I’ve been a Yakupov fan for a couple years. I feel like he hasn’t had the chance to showcase his skills in Edmonton because of their surplus of all-stars.

Yakupov has tallied 111 points (50 goals and 61 assists) in his 252 NHL games. Most of his goals are produced from his ability to isolate himself in front of the net. He hops on rebounds and has a quick release.

One could compare him to Brett Hull—he quietly floats around the net and constantly moves to a spot that will put himself in a scoring position.

Here are the projected lines for tonight’s game against the Blackhawks, 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on NBCSN.